Weed Information: Trifolium dubium (clover, small hop)
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Trifolium dubium (clover, small hop)

Family: Fabaceae

Description

A common weed of lawns, often confused with Medicago lupulina (black medic) from which it can be easily distinguished by its loose heads of flowers which produce a non-coiled pod.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • Yellow
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary cluster
  • Head
Number of Petals
  • 5 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
  • United > 75% of length
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
  • Rounded
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers strongly irregular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 1 mm (.04 inch)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 5 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • United from 25% - 75% length
  • United > 75% of length
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 10 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments united, diadelphous

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 1 carpel
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 1-celled
  • Legume
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • Alternate
Leaf Type
  • Trifoliolate (3 leaflets)
Stipules
  • Foliaceous 2-4 mm (.08 - .16 in) long
  • Foliaceous 4-10 mm (.16 - .40 in) long
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole 25% - 75% total length
  • Petiole > 75% total length
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Dentate
  • Entire
  • Serrate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Notched (emarginate, retuse)
  • Truncate
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Pubescent
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Prostrate
  • Spreading ascending
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Ridged
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem uniformly leafy
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Hawaii
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • North Dakota
  • New Mexico
  • Nevada
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
  • Nebraska
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • Garden Weeds of Southern California, 1981, See page: 63
  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 171
  • Northwest Weeds, 1990 (ISBN 0-87842-249-8) See page: 65
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 280, 287
  • Weeds of Arkansas 1981 (MP 169-5M-3-81) See page: 43
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 268
  • Weeds of California and other Western States, 2007 (ISBN 13: 978-1-879906-69-3) See Page: 805
  • Weeds of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Areas, 1972 (LOC 72-83635) See page: 178
  • Weeds of Southern Turfgrasses, 1992 Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Publication # SP-79, See page: 147
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 326
  • Weeds of the Northern United States and Canada, 1964 Montgomery See page: 99
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 x
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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